This invention relates generally to holding devices that may be used with body adornments such as necklaces, bracelets, anklets, waist chains and the like and more specifically to a new and improved holding device which allows the body adornment to be held in place on a wearer's body thereby preventing the body adornment from becoming displaced so that proper orientation of the body adornment on the wearer's body is maintained. The new and novel holding device is designed to be used with a variety of body adornments and particularly designed to allow the wearer to position the body adornment in a desired orientation on the wearer's body.
Many necklaces and other body adornments are designed so that the decorative ornament such as a pendant, trinket or bauble is movably attached to the chain, string, leather strand, beads or other material that a person may wear around their neck or other body part such as the wrist, arm, leg, ankle, waist and the like. The decorative ornament is often attached to the necklace by a ring or similar attaching means that allows the chain, string, leather strand, beads or the like to move freely though the ring or similar attaching means. When a person places the necklace or other body adornment around their neck or other body part, the clasp which fastens the two ends of the necklace together has a tendency to creep or walk from it's initial position at the back of the wearer's neck to the front of the wearer's body, often coming to rest adjacent to the decorative ornament such as a pendant, trinket or bauble that may be attached to the necklace.
Even in necklaces where the decorative ornament is attached to the chain, string, leather strand, beads or similar material in a manner that holds the decorative ornament in a fixed position relative to the chain or similar material, the clasp or fastening means at the back of the neck has a tendency to creep or walk around to the front of the wearer's body. The result is a displaced decorative ornament or, in the extreme, reversal of the initial position of the clasp and the decorative ornament, especially if the wearer is engaged in an energetic activity.
In both types of necklaces, those with movably attached decorative ornaments and those with fixed decorative ornaments, creeping or walk-around of the clasp from the back of the neck to the front of the neck leads to unsightly body adornment and frustration of the wearer in having to constantly readjust the necklace to its proper orientation. The creeping or walk-around problem has been observed in other types of body adornments as well such as bracelets, anklets, waist chains and the like.
Another problem encountered with body adornments has been the unavailability of an easy and reliable way of adjusting the length of the chain, string, leather strand, beads or similar material without damaging the chain or similar material and without total replacement of the chain or similar material with one of the desired length. One solution has been to place the chain or similar material in a device that grips the chain in a manner that reduces the size of the loop created when the ends of the chain are fastened together. These types of devices generally require someone other than the wearer to make the adjustment as the device is located behind the wearer's neck and adjustment is difficult. Additionally, these type of devices often damage the chain or similar material the necklace is made of.
There are two other critical problems with the gripping type of adjustment device. First, the gripping device can not be used with necklaces, bracelets, anklets, waist chains or other body adornments that utilize beads or other thick materials to make up the "chain" portion of the adornment. Secondly, and most importantly, the weight of the gripping type device can actually increase the tendency of the clasp to creep or walk around the wearer's neck or other body part.
Another solution to the adjustment problem has been to simply replace the "chain" portion of the body adornment with one of the desired length. Not only is this costly but it is also time consuming for the wearer to constantly change the "chain" portion of the necklace depending on the length the wearer desires to have.